Nielsen is planning to shut down its SuperData gaming division, an apparent admission that original hopes for the department didn’t work out as intended.
The global measurement and data analytics company completed its acquisition of the research firm formerly known as SuperData Research in late 2018 and said it would enhance offerings from its pre-existing Nielsen Gaming and Nielsen Esports products. SuperData says it tracked the monthly spending of more than 160 million video game players worldwide, and its client base could have included everything from leagues to teams and other entities in the space.
However, Nielsen has begun informing clients and staff that it will now be closing the department, and the company confirmed this in a statement to SBJ. It said that it will re-direct its focus to having gaming services added as an additional feature for Nielsen Sports, which the Gaming and Esports products remain a part of.
“We have decided to wind down SuperData business operations,” a Nielsen spokesperson told SBJ. “Our focus going forward will be to deliver games-related services and insights as added features and capabilities to core Nielsen Sports products and services.”
It was unclear exactly how many people were employed in the SuperData division and how many of them might remain on with Nielsen moving forward. The company also did not specify why it is shuttering the division.
However, esports industry executives, when informed of the move, noted to SBJ in general that the gaming data space is crowded and that, more broadly, the esports industry hasn’t scaled quite as much as expected in part because of effects from the coronavirus pandemic.
Other firms in the gaming research space include Newzoo (which is owned by SBJ/TEO parent company Leaders Group) and Stream Hatchet.
